The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF) has described comments made by the Bishop of Sokoto Catholic Diocese, Matthew Kukah as “treasonable felony against the Nigerian state” calling for the arrest and prosecution of the cleric.
Kukah in his Christmas message last week accused Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism and noted that there could have been a coup if a non-northern president did a fraction of what the Nigerian leader has done.
Yerima Shettima, National President of the AYCF, in a statement said Kukah is using “nepotism as a weapon of calumny against the government and people of Nigeria,” adding that it is an attempt to “set the south against the north in order to destabilize our country and further complicate matters”.
“Such a reckless statement by Kukah betrays something much more sinister against both the North and the nation as a whole because Nigeria is at a stage that it requires responsible advice for attaining peace and stability, not deliberate attempt to mischievously compound our problems,” he said.
“If Kukah wants to play politics, he should not do so in the pulpit and he should keep the bishop’s office aside and choose any Nigerian political party platform to contest for the president in 2023 and stop all the pretences.
“We will not allow opportunists who didn’t make any contribution to scuttle the democracy achieved through the sweat and toil and the sacrifice of our liberty,” he said.